Learn how to identify & combat age-based discrimination for improved communication & better patient outcomes.
The Biases We Don’t Know We Hold
Implicit bias can affect patient care at the physician level when they’re making treatment decisions and at the healthcare organization level when they’re choosing new hires. Here are insights into strategies rheumatologists can use to become aware of, and question, their implicit biases.
Rheum for Everyone, Episode 6: What Others Hear When You Ask ‘Where Are You From?’
In this episode, Dr. Kumar discusses brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership.
The Gender Gap in Rheumatology Awards
Women are substantially under-represented among the recipients of major awards in rheumatology, according to a 2022 study by Halling et al., which looked at the gender award gap in North America and Europe over the past two decades.1 This trend is also seen in other fields, with only one woman winning the Fields Medal in…
Speak Out Rheum: Racism’s Impact on Patient-Provider Relationships
“I tell everyone who comes into her room now, ‘You will not disrespect my daughter again. No one will,’” recounts Sarah’s mother. “Every time a [provider] acts rude to her, Sarah tells me, ‘Ma, I’m used to it now,’ and I have to insist ‘No! Baby, you should never get used to that.’ … Dr….
Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Rheumatology
I looked at the joints. They spoke back to me—”I need more humanism,” they whispered. To longtime readers, those two sentences may sound both familiar and alien, perhaps even a little humorous. That’s because those sentences were generated entirely by a computer using artificial intelligence (AI). It was simple, too: I just copied the text…
ACR Image Competition 2021 Results, Part 7
Saddle Nose & Cauliflower Ear Deformities in Relapsing Polychondritis These images depict a 32-year-old man who presented with five weeks of left-sided hearing loss, weight loss and discomfort in the nose, ear, chest wall and knee. He had an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of 120 mm/hr, and a C-reactive protein level of 225.4 mg/L. The…
ACR Image Competition 2021 Results, Part 6
Featured Image from Europe & Central Asia Rheumatic Diseases of Childhood: Scleroderma These images depict a patient with a clinical presentation of juvenile dermatomyositis with typical skin manifestations of Gottron’s papules over the extensor surfaces of the joints, as well as hyperpigmentation. Yulia Vyzhga, MD, PhD, is a pediatric rheumatologist at National Pirogov Memorial Medical…
ACR Image Competition 2021 Results, Part 5
Rheumatic Diseases of Childhood: Juvenile Dermatomyositis with Calcinosis Cutis These images depict a 14-year-old boy with a two-year history of proximal muscle weakness affecting both upper and lower limbs, and a skin rash affecting his face. He was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis and developed calcinosis over both legs with skin infection and ulceration. Plain X-ray…
ACR Image Competition 2021 Results, Part 4
Lichenoid Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Mimicking Acanthosis Nigricans The photos depict a 45-year-old woman who presented to the Lupus Clinic of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, with lesions closely resembling acanthosis nigricans on her neck (A and B). The lesions had been present for four months. The patient had lived with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)…